The Politics of Ethnic Conflict

Submitted by:

Tanawish Manzoor
(tanawishmanzoor1@gmail.com)
NDU-BS-18/S-680

IR-7B

May 24, 2021

Submitted to:

Sir Ameer Abdullah

Dept. of International Relations

Faculty of Contemporary Studies

Table of Contents
1-Introduction: .............................................................................................................................................. 4
1.1-
Location………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………..…4

1.2- Fast fact about

Chechnya……………………………………………………………………………………………………
…..……4

1.3-Ethnic
groups………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………….…4

2- The Caucaues Region ............................................................................................................................... 4

2.1- Strategic
Importance…………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………….5

2.2- Historical
Background…………………………………………………………………………………………………
………….…5

3-First Russian Chechan War: ....................................................................................................................... 8

4-The Rise of radicals: ................................................................................................................................. 11
4.1-Choas in
Chechnya……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……….……11

4.4-Russian
Revival………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………….…12

5-Second
War…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………..…13

6-Contemporary
Situation……………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………..14

7-International
Response……………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………….…15

8- Actors : .................................................................................................................................................... 16
8.1- Internal stakeholders: ...................................................................................................................... 17
8.2- External stakeholders: ..................................................................................................................... 17
9- Causes of ethnic conflict : ....................................................................................................................... 18
9.1- Underlying causes: ........................................................................................................................... 18
9.2- Proximate Causes: .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10- Approaches to understand Ethnic Conflict: ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
10.1- Integrated Threat Theory: .......................................................................................................... 20
10.2-Contact Theory: .............................................................................................................................. 20
11- How conflict can be Solved?.....................................................................................................21

12-Conclusion: ............................................................................................................................................ 22
About Chechnya:

Location:

Chechnya, formally the Chechen Republic, located in the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe.
Caucuses is an area between the Black sea and the Caspian Sea, a mountainous region with a rough
terrain. The republic forms a part of Russia's North Caucasian Federal District. Talking about
Chechnya neighbors on its south is Georgia, Stavropol Krai to its northwest, and to its east, north,
and west are the Russian republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia-Alania.

Fast facts about Chechnya:

Chechnya is a republic of Russian Federation with population of approximately one million

(1,395,678 in 2016). The religion followed is Islam and the languages spoken are Chechen and
Russian. The Chechen capital is Grozny. Total area of Chechnya is 6,700 sq mi). Ramzan Akhmad
Kadyrov acting as the Head of the Chechen Republic. He was an ex- representative of the Chechen
independence movement. 1

ETHNIC GROUPS:

It can be recognized as a region with a number of multiple cultures. It has three different family
group all having their own subgroups. There are around 50 ethnic groups present with religion
varying from Christianity, Orthodox as well as Orientals, Muslims, Shias as well as Sunnis, Salafis
and some Jews. The foundation of Chechen social structure and ethnic identity respites on
protecting family and tribe integrity, regard for elders, and instituting interactions between families
and tribes. About 150 tribes founded the historical Chechen civilization. Chechen make up 95.3%
of the republic’s population. Other groups are kumyks (1%), Ingush 0.1%, Russians (1.9%) and
other small groups constitutes less than 0.5% of the entire population.

The Caucuses Region:

The Caucuses is divided into two parts. The Northern Greater Caucuses and the Southern Lesser
Caucuses. The lesser Caucuses is comprised of independent, centralized countries with somewhat
homogenous people, many conquerors tried their luck in that region like Greeks, Saljuks, Romans
and Persians, hence the degree of civilization can be seen. These countries include Georgia,
Armenia, and Azerbaijan. On the other hand, the Greater Caucuses comprises of autonomous states
of Russian Federation. These are decentralized, remote and highly unstable states including
Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Adygea and others.

Strategic Importance:

The region is very rough but has high reservoirs of oil hence holds strategic importance for the
Russian Federation. Georgia Pankisi Gorge in Chechnya offers one of the few and far between
natural north-south paths around the Caucasus Mountains. Through the Black Sea oil pipelines
link modem oil refineries in Grozny to the European market so Grozny east-west routes hold

1
"Chechnya Profile". 2020. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18188085.
strategic significance Economically important oil and gas deposits resides in the mountainous
region while the river valleys have the agriculture.

History of Caucasus region:

The Caucasus region has usually been sandwiched by many empires due to the squeeze in, the
region was seriously split up by these empires with the southern regions at times falling under the
organized Middle eastern states i.e., Romans. Northern Caucuses region mostly ruling over
themselves and each other.2

Strategic location of Chechnya was the reason behind historic battles Russia fought to get entrance
to the region and alleviate chaos on borders. From 1722 to 1859, Chechen forces unified, under
tribal leaders like Sheikh Mansur and later Imam Shamil and challenged Russian. excursions into
the area. Mostly things of the mountains that surrounded them and help prevent invasions or made
invasions very costly till 1700s when Russian expeditions started where it had to fight off the
already established rulers or the are powerful players in the Caucasus region. Mostly with the
Persian Empire with wars like (Russo Persian Wars) and Ottomans with wars like (Russo Turkish
War 1686-1700). But even when officially taking over these lands and territory, the Russian
Empire had to fight off the many Caucasian people who tend to greatly dislike the predicament
they found themselves in that time. Russia had to reassert their claim and control over the Caucasus
Empire from the Persians or the Ottomans. During these many wars the Caucasian people tried to
make their own bid for independence but the Circassian people making their own bed and leading
a guerrilla war against Russian Empire starting in 1763.On the other side of the Caucuses at the
same time Iman Qazi Muhammad was able to unite Chechen and Dagestani Muslims under the
idea of fighting a jihad against Russian expansion. His band of fighters and supporters would end
up forming the Caucasian Iman Maidan in 1828 or 1829 and they were pretty good at this guerrilla
warfare stuff and at times were able to take over Russians positions, they were even threatening
the city of brane but everything were changed for Qazi Muhammad when Russian forces were
able to find his headquarters where they kick off the Battle of Gimry in 1832 where Qazi
Muhammad with 192 fighters were killed but Qazi second in command was able to escape but he
was too wounded to leave causing Imam Hamza backwardly who had died four years later

2
Chechnya (Region): History". 2020. Infoplease.
https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/places/baltic-cis/countries/chechnya/history.
.Following his death Imam Shamil came to power. During his early rule, Russians were able to
besiege Shamils forces at the siege of Akhoulgo and break their defenses and strung the fort.
During this Shamil was able to escape. Due to this some Chechen -Dagestani tribes began to
pleasure Lord T towards the tsar until one day Imam Shamil emerge and began to win back to
strike, he was able to unite more tribes due to his popularity and was able to proclaim his struggle
against the Russians as Jihad and proclaim that he would set up an independent emirate under
Sharia. Imam Shamil was able to lead guerilla war against the Russian Empire and it seemed pretty
well. Until the end of Crimean War where the Russian Empire would begin to dub with her efforts
in the region and so crushing Imam Shamil emirates in 1859 and imprisoning him for life in St.
Petersburg.

It was getting hard to impossible for the Soviets to keep situation and region under control hence
they decided to ethnically cleanse the area. 400,000 Circassians were killed, 500,00 were deported
to ottoman empire and only 80000 were left. With their neighbors dying, the Caucasians mainly
Chechens continued to fight. However, the numbers were decreasing but they did not give up.

On the other end of the Caucasus the Russian Circassian War was also coming to an end. By the
end of 1870s, Russia had finally annexed the region and did not suffer any major revolt, so that
level following the end of the war Caucasian began to face deportation by the Russian Empire
where they are mostly moved towards the Ottoman Empire and their homeland were replaced by
Eastern settlers. This will greatly affect the Cerrations people as hundreds and thousands were
killed during these deportations and the Cerration population in that area took a very hard dip.
Following this the Caucasus region seemed pretty Chill. Later Russian Empire was indulged in
world war 1, Russian revolution and civil war when Caucasus region would once again make a bid
for independence, but these attempts also failed following the end of Russian civil war in the
formation of the USSR. The Caucasian region seemed kind of stable until world war 2 where Hitler
invaded USSR in operation Barbarossa. During invasion the Nazi Germany would answer the oil
rich region of the Caucasus mostly aiming for the oil fields of Baku, these series of military
operations would be caught the Battle of the Caucasus.

World War I and the communist revolution in 1917 finished the comparative tranquility with
Chechens, planning for their own autonomy, battling hostile to both sides. In 1922, the Soviet
Union took control of the area and created the Chechen Autonomous Region, which in 1934
became part of the Chechen-Ingush Region, and then a Soviet republic in 1936.

In February 1944, the Chechens were alleged for collaborating with Hitler during the invasion. As
a result, Joseph Stalin decided to wipe out Caucasians. In Caucuses, it is said, “Only a Caucasian
can beat a Caucasian. Stalin was born in Georgia; hence he knew how to deal with them. The
population was grouped together and deported to Kazakhstan. Guilty or not, mass genocide often
frowned upon. Their homeland was to be converted all symbol of their culture and history put to
the torch to give way for a Soviet paradise. The region capital Grozny was established as a Russian
city for Russian people. Half of the people being transported were children. The weather was
extreme, unheated, and uninsulated cars were used. Whenever anyone resisted, he was killed at
the spot. Incidents like burning cabins of hundreds of people were also reported. To make sure that
no one is left behind, the soldiers came and bombed the entire houses. Those dead were simply
covered with sand. The estimates are that almost two hundred thousand Chechens alone, were
killed in the in the process that makes one third of the total Chechen population. After the
populations being deported, the next task was to eliminate their signs of existence. Some
settlements of Chechens were complete destroyed. Their graveyards and mosques were
demolished. Writings and scriptures were burnt. The places were renamed. The gravestones were
used to make footpaths for pedestrians to walk on. In short, the history was being rewritten once
again. The archeologists found some writings in the pockets of the Caucasian soldier who died in
Ukraine. They tried to trace their homes to tell their families about their relative but found out that
such settlements had been removed and destroyed from scratch by the Soviets. However, after
Stalin’s death and during Khrushchev’s destalinization process, Chechens could come back to their
homeland in 1957. The settlement back in was very slow as the home was already settled with
foreign people. As they saw foreigners living in their region, settled in their houses, the ethnic
tensions between Chechens and them starts rising. It took almost 36 years for Chechen to become
majority again in their region. This was the time when Brezhnev was in power. The union was
occupied in other crucial matters, as it was growing weak day by day, that the Chechen problem
went in the background. Being an unstable, heterogenous and decentralized state, Chechnya has
its history full of blood and devastation. The unpleasant history contains two major wars that we
will understand within the lens of Ethnic Conflict.3

After eras of coercion, the Chechen population had a shared remembrance of Russian cruelties.
Even Though many Chechens rose to eminence in the Soviet administration, when the Soviet
Union started to collapse in 1991, the mutual historic remembrance of Russian repression unified
the Chechens under the flag independence and nationalism.

THE FIRST WAR:

In 1990 the Soviet Union collapsed, and Chechnya declared itself as an independent state. The
then President Gorbachev declared 15 states that were part of Union as independent, but the
problem was that Chechnya was not one of them. From 1991 to 1994, general Dudayev with the
help of militants establish government in Chechnya and declared Chechen Republic of Itskeria.

He overthrew the communist government out of Chechnya. He gathered popular support making
Chechen the earliest republics to declare independence from USSR. The not-independent
independent republic continued to be practically independent, as President Yeltin had bigger fish
to fry, attempting to create his capitalist democratic Russia and prevent a complete, total dissent
into chaos, crime, and corruption. But that’s not to say things were peachy for Dudayev in
Chechnya. There was a mass exodus of Russians as violence boiled over. And with them left many
of the educated and skilled workers leading to the collapse of Chechnya’s industry. Government
services were also abysmal, as Dudayev became obsessed with arming and organizing militias.
Chechnya was more gun than government. Soon there were elements inside Chechnya that looked
to oust Dudayev and a failed coup in March 1992 showed they were serious. The President would
respond by throwing out any kind of republican element from his republic, ushering in direct rule,
and later in 1993, dissolving its parliament. However, it was around the same time Yeltins
administration began to prioritize Chechnya. As Russia is one of the worlds largest energy
exporters trading metric tons of petrol and oil. The oil deposits of the Caucasus, and more
specifically Chechnya were integral. The countermovement inside Chechnya began to receive
Russian support.1994 saw Chechnya blockaded, trade cut off, and the only thing going in was

3
V Trenin, Demitri. 2020. "The Forgotten War: Chechnya And Russia's Future".
Carnegieendowment.Org. https://carnegieendowment.org/files/Policybrief28.pdf.
Russian arms and money to those against Dudayev. The eventual coup would disastrously fail and
Russians arms and mercenaries-or what they really were conscripted soldiers were exposed and
paraded for all to see. So, it was decided: Screw subtlety and an ultimatum of “pack it in” was
given to Dudayev who responded a clear NO to it. Then the order was given to restore
constitutional order to Chechnya by force.

On the 11 of December,1994, the war began and already it was severely unpopular. And that
wasn’t the only bad sign. The other was plan. Three convoys and all the west and East to all blitz
through to the heart of Chechnya. After the capital had been softened up with some bombardment,
Yeltsin and his administration thought that was perfect as it would be bloodless blitzkrieg, a quick
strike and its over. Truth was, Chechnya is a mountainous, rugged place, populated with devoted
and heavily armed people with a long history of resistance going up against poorly- trained
conscripts backed by a nation suffering recession. Dudayev had field commanders swiftly mobilize
their militias. The command was heavily decentralized, and the Chechen fighters would fight
mostly as guerrillas, never letting up on the convoys until the very moment they reached Grozny.
When the federal forces did arrive at Grozny, thousands of civilians were already dead from a
week -long series of aerial and artillery bombardments. All the death in the air only further incited
the Chechen fighters. On New Year’s Day, Grozny was stormed. Armored personnel carries
simply drove straight to the city and so quickly, vehicle after vehicle went down by ragtag groups
of fighters. With the vehicles went all the conscripts inside, and soon the Russians causalities were
stacking as the enemy eluded them inside the still populated city. The federal forces were made to
withdraw from the slaughterhouse and things were to be done the traditional Russian way. It was
only when there was nothing left to defend di Chechen general, Aslan Maskhdov, finally give the
order to retreat from the city on January 18. The Russians were free to claim the carcass of Grozny.
Chechen too, had traditional methods to resort to, and retreated to the mountains to fight the
Russians. Ambushes became common, and the fighters offered Russians no mercy and so Russians
do likewise in their raids. The war soon became not a battle for land, but for bodies. The mountains
were a blessing but a curse too, as the fighters became increasingly cooped up as federal forces
continued their advance. Chechnya’s Chief mufti, Akhmad Kadyrov, would declare their struggle
a jihad, and attempt to see foreign volunteers assist them. Foreign offerings in numbers were,
however, slim but they made up for it in their money. The encirclement would not be broken by
manpower, though, nor any aid for that matter, but instead by the field commander, Shamil
Basayev. He led a group of fighters in June to attack the Russian city of Budyonnovsk, but not in
any traditional sense of sieging or storming. They instead entered a maternity hospital and took
around 1800 of the occupant’s hostage. His main demand was for a ceasefire. The Russians
answered with an attempted storming of the hospital. It failed catastrophically and Basayev
remained with both hospital and hostages. And so, federation gave in. A ceasefire was signed. It’s
not like this would be the last, one even the worst, terrorist attack in the conflict, either. The
window offered was used by the Chechens and the Russians to reorganize, regroup, and rearm.
Federal troops began to move more and more of their numbers from Grozny to the mountains. And
when that ceasefire ended, it was like nothing had changed. Heavy fighting continued and the
slaughter resumed. By 1996, it was clear something had to change. Yeltsin was absorbed by his
reelection bid, so the army had to show results, claims a victory, anything. That did come in the
form of Dzhokhar Dudayev assassination in April 1996, killed by two guided missiles. When
Basyev announced the death on a broadcast, Yeltsin claimed it as a victory he so desperately
needed. But of course, it wasn’t that simple. As Yeltsin was sworn in for his second term, the army
in Chechnya was blatantly sidestepped, and Grozny stormed by militants. For the unlucky few
troops still in the city were brutally killed. Grozny was captured, and the Russian army back at
square one. So, either it was time to do it all again, or just call it quits. The Yeltsin administration
choose the latter one and the Khasav- Yurt accord was signed off on August 30th, 1996.The Russian
army leave Chechnya. They did respect the boundary, but not recognize it. The independence will
not be recognized but the boundaries will be respected. Yeltsin chose to withdraw. Hence this war
is also known as YELTSIN’S VIETNAM. It was also decided that any matter between Russia
and Chechnya could be left to 2001, when all of this was no longer Yeltsin’s problem.

THE RISE OF RADICALS:

Chaos in Chechnya:

Chechnya emerged as an independent country from 1996 until 1999 when the second Chechen war
will begin.After a year and a half of some of the heaviest fighting Europe had seen since world,
the Chechen had done it. They had realized the dream of independence. Or, as it turned out, the
nightmare. The now President Maskhadov sought to normalize Chechnya. The economy,
nonexistent, jobs, there are none and no centralization. The Chechen President asked for Russian
assistance for rebuilding and rehabilitation. The assistance was provided in paper but never
reached. Attempts were made to get foreign funding. The guerilla forces made in the First Chechen
war had no job to do hence the violence was created. Crimes like killing and kidnappings started
taking place. Three British were also killed hence the chances of foreign funding were now almost
none. The field commanders and their militias would not stand down. They just weren’t interested.
And so Basayev and other became warlords. The militias’ structure was now backfiring, and so
too would the call for jihad. The situation got worse when in 1998 the Mashkadov’s national force
and the militants started fighting. In July of the same year, emergency was imposed in the state.
Mashkadov could not even protect the pipelines of oil form the Caspian Sea to Russia hence the
revenue was also taken back. Islamist fighters started converting the Chechen youth to their radical
Wahabis’ branch of Islam, not with convincing sermons, but with Saudi money. Religious
extremism became rife in the republic. In fact, if it wasn’t political or religious violence, it was
just straight up crime. Kidnappings and random became common, and if not that, then a cross
boarder raid would fill militant pockets instead. President Maskhadov, the parliament, and the
public wielded no power in Chechnya. Power came only from the end of a gun. And those happy
to use them were the warlords. By the time warlords ran districts and Sharia law was enforced on
the people, the chief mufti, Akhmad Kadyrov, and many others for the matter, were disillusioned
with this independence. Soon, the Russian government had Chechen on their side. That’s not to
say Russia was prospering. It had its own fair share of problems.4

Russian Revival:

In 1999, Yeltsin was coming to the end of his presidency. His wish for a democracy had only seen
the state become corrupt, disgraced, and defeated. Yeltsin was sick and aging, and the new
generation had to take over. The government of Russia was, however, against Yeltsin and any
successor he may offer. Soviet revanchism was growing and growing. Nostalgia for the Union
blinded many and federation was in dire straits. It was only by betraying the values of free
democracy could Russia survive. Vladimir Putin was planned to be Yeltsin’s successor for the

4
Omar Ashour.2010."Security, Oil, and Internal Politics: The Causes of the Russo-ChechenConflicts”.
tandfonline.com.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10576100490275102?journalCode=uter20.
2000 election. It was only by betraying the values of a free democracy could Russia survive.
Vladimir Putin was planned to be Yeltsin’s successor for the 2000 election and the man was going
to relive Yeltsin’s mistakes. He did build an autocratic, centralized state with himself the president,
the strong man of Russia. His job would not be easy. To bring together the Presidency, the
government, and the people could seem a herculean task. But answering the Chechen question
could have done just that. Shamil Basayev, and commander of mujahideen in Chechnya, Ibn Al -
Khattab, would invade the neighboring Republic of Dagestan in late 1999.Or Autonomous
republic, that is Autonomous republic of Russia. The Islamification of Chechnya had continued to
the point where the Islamic international brigade along with Chechen troops attack neighboring
Dagestan to expand and to control areas where Islamic people live. The Russian counterattack was
swift and saw extensive use of their new go to tactic. Indiscriminate Bombardment. It would be a
month before the Islamist militants had been driven out of Dagestan and back into Chechnya. It
was in that month, with series of apartment bombings rung out across Russia, killing almost 300
people. It was quickly pinned on the Chechens, though some think it was an inside job. Though
some don’t have any hard evidence. t. Along with that the Chechens were also blamed for the
bombings at several places in Russia. These included the School hostage crisis, Airport bombing,
train bombing and Moscow theater hostage crises to name a few.Putin and his party pro war stance
was now popular coming into the 1999 parliamentary elections. Bombs fell on Chechnya,
Maskhdovs rule was deemed illegitimate, and Putin stated, “There is no border with Chechnya”.
This is what Putin need to roll again the Russian military to put it to a stop. 5

Second War:

The second war last from1999 until 2000 it a much quicker war as Russian military was much
prepared this time. Chechen deaths, many calls of war atrocities, war crimes against Chechen
people. This war is all about Putin war on terror he claims that the Islamic religion in Chechnya is
the breeding ground for terrorism and spreading of Jihad from Chechnya to neighboring Republics
and he is going to put down this terror. Putin justify this war and his increase power by what he

5
Lt.Colonel Behram A.Sahakur.(2008)."A brief analysis of the conflict in
Chechnya:".https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09700160008455161?journalCode=rsan20.
saw as terror coming back at home to Moscow. There was bombing in apartments where civilian
was killed. A theater was taken over by Chechen rebels leading to mass casualties and perhaps one
of the most brutal terrorist attacks was when an entire school was taken captive, and many were
children killed when Russian commandos stormed the school and explosive denoted killing many.
Chechnya today has been reclaimed by Russia and its pro-Russian government has been installed.
The war ended in 2000 however there is an insurgency in the mountains that is still resisting
Russian rule and there are continuously attacks happening overtime from the Chechen separatists.

By the end of January 2000, the bulk of the militant had abandoned the city and federal forces took
Grozny, the most destroyed city on Earth. Heavy Russian causalities were apparent. Separatists
were once again in the mountains and Russian still had many bombs they wished to send their
way.2000 was spent mostly just hitting any classes of fighters they could find. In May, the early
formation of an exit plan was already being put in place. Akhmad Kadyrov was to be installed as
a head of a pro- Moscow administration. With Kadyrov’s loyalty, Putin hoped to see him bring the
rest of the Chechens into the line. But Kadyrov was not the smooth-talking diplomatic friend of
the people type. His control came from his militia, Power through fear. He was a Chechen who
knew what Chechen responded to. Because as we know, it takes a Caucasian to beat a Caucasian.
As 2000 ended, the separatists had been pushed out of the populated centers, and Russian claimed
control of the most important asset of the war, the people. Heavy fighting was over, but the war
certainly wasn’t. The insurgency continued to haunt Chechens and shock Russians. This war had
become very different from the first one.

The next year, a new Chechen republic would come together. Kadyrov was formally elected
president after he had blocked and scared away competition. It was now his job to lead, and
importantly, control the republic. The autonomous republic of the Russian federation. Resistance
to the new president was disorganized, yet still highly volatile. At one extreme, you have
Babayev’s jihadists, and at the other, Maskadov’s more secular rebels. In between, many different
militias and many different leaders. After Moscow theater, there were more terrorist attacks mostly
under Babayev’s instruction.2004 would see this steeped up. In May, an explosive in a Grozny
stadium killed 30 people including Kadyrov. Power transferred to his son, Ramzan Kadyrov,who
has officially stood as president since 2007.September 2004, would contain the apogee of
Babayev’s terrorist attacks. The Beslan massacre saw 34 insurgents take 1100 hostages at a school,
mostly women and children. The federal forces acted. Over 300 people would die in the storming
of the school. It was a tragedy, but it wasn’t a defeat. Basayev was the most wanted man in Russia.
And the Chechen cause had been perverted beyond repair. The terror attacks, the killings, the
kidnappings, and the radicalism was all the public could see now. Russia own crime now
seemed trivial. The original dream of the Chechen Republic of Itskeria died with Maskhadov in
2005 when he was killed by the FSB. And for Basayev, his end would come in 2006, not at the
hands of an elaborate and perfectly planned-out and executed FSB assassination, but when a mine
was mishandled in his presence and his own bombs literally blew up in his face. The war would
not share Babayev’s fate. It didn’t go out with a bang, but with a whimper. Responsibility for
combating the insurgency was slowly transferred from Russian troops to Kadyrov’s. And if it was
a Chechen problem, it wouldn’t be a Russian one. Billions of dollars were also funneled into the
republic to turn a Grozny from a ruin to a lavish regional capital. They speed and ambition of the
construction was admirable, but could a few skyscrapers truly win over the people?

Contemporary Situation:

The second Chechen War formally ended on the 16 of April,2009 when Ramzan Kadyrov and
Putin’s political tag-team partner. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev officially ended Russian
counter-terrorism operations inside Chechnya. A low-level insurgency continues in the area, but
fact of the matter is, the militants are nowhere near strong enough to concern Russia, and Russia
is nowhere near as weak as they once were. Chechnya is now a republic of concession and
oppression. It’s very much changed from the 80s. Chechen culture and its Islamic faith is embraced
fully and openly. Chechen people are unmistakably Chechen, not Russia. But Kadyrov government
is corrupt. Human right violations are no stranger to them. And if it’s not the government
persecuting. It’s the insurgencies or criminals instead. What earns the most serious profit in
Chechnya, though, is their oil and this makes Putin tolerate Kadyrov and the entire republic today,
“THEIR LOYALTY MEANS MONEY”. And so, both Russian and Chechen crimes becomes
6
permissible for the end goal.

International Response.

6
Mansur Mirovalev. 2014.Chechnya, Russia and 20 years of conflict.
Aljazeera.https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/12/11/chechnya-russia-and-20-years-of-conflict.
The international community has an ethical and partisan responsibility to defend essential rights
of Chechens. With a united voice it should be dominant on the Russian administration to stop
enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and, torture which Russian forces enact on a day-to-
day basis. The international community has in its place elected the route of self-deceit, selecting
to trust Russia’s entitlements that the condition in Chechnya is getting better and there is no need
to take international actions. The year 2003 saw no development in the international community’s
disappointing response to the Chechen situation. All the international community could congress
were well-intended statements of concern that were never reinforced with diplomatic, political,
financial or other consequences. The armed conflict in Chechnya threatened the regional peace
and stability which increased the concerns of the International Community. The International
Community responded primarily with diplomacy but to no avail.. Russia is a permanent member of
the United Nations Security Council, Russia was able to buffer Chechnya from serious U.N. inspection,
save for the U.N. Commission on Human Right. And to date the Russian government had still not invited
U.N. special rapporteurs on torture and extrajudicial executions to visit the region. The U.S. and European
governments have comprehensive political and economic programs with Russia, extending from strategic
missile defense to energy security to Russian policy in the Middle East. Russia flourished in further
defending the conflict from inspection in international forums after Putin described Justified his operation
as the part of War against Terrorism after 9/11. At the bilateral level, little apparent effort was made at
the highest levels to press Russia to improve human rights protections in the region. 7

Stakeholders in Conflict:

The armed conflict in Chechnya was defined by a wide variety of factors involved. There were
two types of stakeholders involved in the conflict.

7
Dmitry Furman.(20020)."Russia, Chechnya and the international community". Humanitarian Practice
Network.https://odihpn.org/magazine/russia-chechnya-and-the-international-community/.
Internal Stakeholders: Internal stakeholders involved groups Russian state and Chechnya.
Russian Administration such as President Putin, Brezhnev and Boris Yeltsin. It also included
Religious leaders such as Iman Shamil, MUFTI Ahmadi Kadyrov. There were the Resistance
movement and Jihadist leaders like Dzhokhar Dudayev as well Aslan Mashkadov, Army General.

External Stakeholders: Within External stakeholders, States include the United States.
International Organizations such as United Nations Organization (UNO), The Organization for
Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were involved. Saudi Arabia was also part of this as they
were funding rebels in Chechnya.

As a concern to Russia why they wanted to put this rebellion down and bring Chechnya under
their thumb was so that other republic did not get the idea that too could break away and Putin
want to make sure that outside groups like AL Queda and other terrorist groups don’t also come
into Russia and exacerbated the tension between the orthodox Russians and Muslim who live in
North caucuses region.

CAUSES OF CONFLICT

Underlying Causes of the Conflict

• Structural Causes: Russia after disintegration became very weak in having effective control
over Chechnya as discussed earlier. There were intra-state security concerns in Chechnya, so
the Chechens wanted to separate from Russia and demanded Independence.

Ethnic geography: Chechnya is a very rough, mountainous area. The Caucuses where it is
saturated as highly decentralized and uncivilized. There were many ethnic groups with their
subgroups like Christians both orthodox and orientalists, Muslims, Qadris and Naqshbandis. It was
a rural region. Chechen state that was formed at the end of first war was very weak. The only
commonality was their religion, but it too was so much subdivided that it too could not play its
part.

 Political Causes: The political uncertainty in Russia due to the change from Communism
to democracy. The institutional and ideological void, triggered by the fall of communism,
which permitted for the rise of radical components in both states and the USSR desire to
maintain its territorial integrity were the leading causes of war.
Discriminatory Political Policies:

As the region was made part of Russian Federation during the reign of Alexander, the political
policies were discriminatory. No attention was given to Chechnya. They were not included in any
political institutions along with that as at that time it was a monarchy the chances of it being
incorporated in the system were none. The internal fragmentation was so high that it was
impossible for Dudayev to control the region. His rule was not acceptable unanimously, people
had resentments. The groups kept departing trying to attain their rule After independence, the
internal fragmentation increased. The centralization of authority was becoming impossible as well
as the uniform exercise of power. Multiple coups attempt also took place to overthrow
Mashkadov’s government. The absence of an appropriate institutional and legal structure in Russia
to deal efficiently with center-periphery matters.

Exclusionary Nationalistic Ideologies: The Russian administration had practiced exclusionary

nationalistic ideologies; they deprived the Chechen of the right of self- determination. Further,
they were deprived of political rights and other human rights.

Contentious Inter-group politics: The inter-group politics between the Russia and Chechen
increased the probability of Ethnic conflict.

• Socio Economic Causes

Discriminatory Economic System:

The economic development throughout the history was minimal. There was no modernization in
the region. Chechnya was a transit state before the wars for oil and gas pipelines from the oil rich
Caspian Sea region to the Black Sea Cost. Chechnya has its own but fading oil reserves. It was of
economic and strategic worth for Russia to influence the area mainly for the need of the pipelines.
The wars and the unending resistance ruined the infrastructure and institutions that were structured
before. After the first Chechen war, when the independence was declared, the war left the country
in shambles. Due to the internal divisions, there was complete anarchy, economy of the newly born
state was crumbling. Terrorism and organized crimes were increasing to an exponential rate.
Everyday cases of kidnappings and killings were reported. Russian carried out a discriminatory
Economic System that led to uneven and preferential economic development and modernization.
These growing economic challenges is also a reason of what prompted the war.
• Cultural and Perceptual Causes

Pattern of Cultural Discrimination

After WWII when the Chechens were displaced, their whole history was rewritten. Mosques and
Graveyards were destroyed. Writings and books were burnt. Their names were eliminated from
records. Homes were resettled with foreigners. When they could return, seeing foreigners in their
houses and the memories of unpleasant past made ethnic tensions worse.The escalating forms of
cultural prejudice from the start of the 1990´s is also a sparking cause. The perceptions about the
“other” Russians were bitter and full of hatred. The perceptions got permanent with the experiences
of both wars and interwar period.

Problematic Group Histories: Chechnya and Russians share problem group history which leads to
ethnic conflict.

Proximate Causes of Conflict

• Internal elite: The internal elite an its power was decentralized. The power was not concentrated
neither was it exercised at all levels. The leaders were weak and unable to control masses at all
levels. Neither were they capable of keeping a check on the crimes that were increasing. Decisions
carried by the leaders of the Russian state and the leader of the territory of Chechnya that intended
to break free from Russia. The decisions taken by the leaders were due to the urge to stay in power.
The constant struggle of Russia's military and political elite to resolve the ethno-political
dispute by force supported by the fight with international terrorism was destined to failure. The
rebellion became self-sustaining because of a violent circle propagated by fraud and viciousness.

• Internal Masses: The masses were fragmented. The poor economic conditions and no job
opportunities made them use radical methods to earn. Like killings and kidnappings. The
guerilla bombing different areas of Russia also made the situation worse. The war triggers
and Russian authorities promote the intensification of nationalist and chauvinist
inclinations. The Chechen community is steadily being isolated from other communities.
• External Elite: The external elite had expansionist mindset and well as they tried to take over
the resources of the region. The issue of 9/11 legitimized Putin’s war against Chechens as he
labeled it as fight against terrorism and radical entities. Russia joined America and other
nations as a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). From the early 1990's,
Chechen organizations got financial assistance from Saudi Arabian and Pakistani ideological
charity groups.

THEORATICAL FRAMEWORK

There are multiple lenses through which the Chechen ethnic Conflict can be observed. The ethnic
differences exacerbated to the highest level turning into war. First, we will discuss why the Conflict
took place in the first place with the help of a theoretical framework. Second, we will discuss the
solution again with the help of theoretical framework.

Approaches to understand Ethnic Conflict:

The response to that will be given with the help of few theories.

Gurr model is important and explains Chechen conflict very well. Gurr, instrumentalist, firstly,
divide ethnic group into: Ethnos classes, Ethno-nationals, indigenous groups, communal
contenders and militant sects. Ethno-nationals only want political and economic rights. Then Gurr
outlined certain variables used in analysis of conflicts i.e., democratic power, group coherence,
political economic distress, demography, loss of autonomy, past repressions and counter-
repressions. Gurr and Moore design 4 step cyclic model: (i) grievances, as discussed during World
War 2 because of Stalin actions leads to (ii) mobilization of ethnicity (if grievances not addressed)
led to (iii) rebellion which is (iv) repressed by government. Instrumentalists argue that the Power
elite who exploited or manipulated the ethnic grievances for solely political gains.

In the case of Chechnya, all these factors contributed to intensifying the ethnic difference that
resulted in the two Chechnya wars. The historical, cultural, and political grievances between
Russians and Chechens lead to this Ethnic Conflict.

Integrated Threat Theory: Walter and Cookie Stephen’s integrated threat theory can be used to
describe why the conflicts took place. They argue that the conflicts occur when a group perceived
threats from the other group. These threats can be mere perceptions as well as they can have
element of reality in it. There are four types of threats that a group can perceive and can cause
conflict.

 Realistic threats: The threat to the physical wellbeing of the Chechens was present. There
had been multiple cases in history that they were tried to wipe out. This included the
displacement, Killings, deporting and all efforts of Genocide to remove their existence.
 Symbolic Threat: The threat to Chechen cultural values and symbols was also there as
they had experienced it in the past where their Religious places, writings, homes and even
names were destroyed and eliminated.
 Negative Stereotype: due to the barbaric history with the Russian, the Chechen had
definitely stereotyped them accordingly and no efforts were made to change the perception
or build cordial relations among people of both groups. Hence the chances of future conflict
were present.
 Intergroup anxiety: every time both groups had contact with on another it was at the time
of Conflict or war, fighting against one another. Hence the degree of inter group anxiety
was also quite much.

2- Contact theory (Prejudice Factor):

As the contact theory suggests that the basic element that leads to conflict is the prejudice that
one group holds for the other. Allport’s reasons of initiation of war can efficiently describe the
reason why conflict took place. The Chechens and the Russians had no contact. The only times
that the two parties came in contact with one another was at the different times of invasion and
war, which Definitely was not a good experience. The negative feelings with the passage of
time increased as the events of fighting and resisting took place. The animosity increased
between Chechens and Russians every passing day. The prejudice with the experiences of war
strengthened the perceptions. The Chechens were on the damaging end. Even after the
incorporation of the state in Russian Federation the economic opportunities given to the
Chechens were almost none. There was disparate modernization, rather there was none in
Chechnya. There was a sense in Chechens that their resources that they had of oil would be
taken away. The factor of extreme ancient hatred, due to the events that took place after the
second world war, increased the prejudice as well as the chances of future conflicts. The
 problematic history and the ongoing situation paved a path for the definite an inevitable
conflict in future.

HOW CONFLICT CAN BE SOLVED?

1- Failure of Muller’s Partition Idea:

Muller came up with the theory to suggest solution for the ethnic conflicts. He explained
that as ethnonationalism is increasing the only humane possible solution to the problem is
giving independence to the ethnic groups even if they are not asking for it to eradicate the
chances of future conflict. He suggested that the International community should also
support the newly born state in all possible aspects But Mullers theory met a failure in the
case of Chechnya. The state itself declare independence after first Chechen war but the
situation did not get better even to a small extent. Rather the internal fragmentation worsens
the situation. The economy was crumbling. The Crime rate increased exponentially. There
were voices against the government soon afterwards and groups becoming extremist were
increasing, which resulted into invasion in the neighboring region leading to another war.
2- Contact Theory (Contact Factor): The solution of the conflict can be expressed with the
help of the above mentioned Allport’s Contact Theory. The one of the basic causes is the
type of contact the groups had with one another. If the incentives were given when the
Chechens returned to their homeland during the era of Khrushev and mechanisms were
formulated to establish good relations between the Chechens and the foreigners being
settled, the situation might have had changed. The efforts should have been done to
decrease the degree of animosity and hatred for one another. The modernization should
have been done in the region giving the economic opportunities and equal citizen status.

CONCLUSION:

The history with a persistent resistance and clashes from 17century onwards and the Stalin actions against
Chechens that created memory and perception about Russians as their permeant enemies. The Russian
expansionist policies to dominate Caucasian and Chechen resistance is the reason why conflict stated and
is going on. Way might may have been avoided but the personal antagonism between Dzhokhar Dudayev
and Boris Yeltsin was the driving cause. Chechnya now exists on the world map as an autonomous State
of Russian Federation under the rule of Ramzan Kadyrov. The situation has got much better after 2002,
end of second Chechen war. The economic conditions have also been improved. the Head of the state
Ramzan Kadyrov has invested much in the arms and ammunition. However, the marks of history on the
Chechen [people can make be erased.